Vitiligo is primarily caused by autoimmune conditions, hormonal changes, acute emotional trauma or stress, recurrent episodes of jaundice or typhoid, prolonged antibiotic treatments or treatment with corticosteroids. Leucoderma will occur strictly after physical trauma such as a cut, burn or ulceration.
To diagnose vitiligo, your doctor will ask about your family history and perform a thorough physical exam. The exam may include a close evaluation of your skin. Sometimes doctors use a Wood's lamp, also known as a black light, which is an ultraviolet light that the doctor shines on your skin.
It is also known as leucoderma and can affect the skin on any part of your body. It is generally characterized by irregular, pale, or milky white patches on the skin. The condition is not contagious or life-threatening.
The signs of vitiligo can appear at any stage of life, and include: Loss of skin color in patches, usually seen first on your face, hands, arms, legs, and feet. Premature whitening of your body hair, including facial hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. Loss of color of the tissues inside your nose.
Another condition that rarely causes a true white spot is nevus depigmentosus, which is a birthmark that usually appears within the first few months of life, has jagged edges, usually doesn't turn the hair white, and doesn't grow in size like vitiligo – it may get larger as the child grows and the skin stretches, but ...
The first appearance of vitiligo is through small white skin patches that usually appear on the hands, arms, face, or feet although they may appear anywhere on the body.
Pityriasis versicolor can sometimes be confused with vitiligo, as they both cause the skin to become discoloured in patches. But there are ways to tell the difference: vitiligo often develops symmetrically (on both sides of your body at the same time), while pityriasis versicolor may not.
Vitiligo often starts as a pale patch of skin that gradually turns completely white. The centre of a patch may be white, with paler skin around it. If there are blood vessels under the skin, the patch may be slightly pink, rather than white. The edges of the patch may be smooth or irregular.
Vitiligo may occur in the same areas on both sides of the face -- symmetrically -- or it may be patchy -- asymmetrical. The typical vitiligo lesion is flat and depigmented, but maintains the normal skin texture. The dark areas around the eyes are this person's normal skin color.
No drug can stop the process of vitiligo — the loss of pigment cells (melanocytes). But some drugs, used alone, in combination or with light therapy, can help restore some color. Drugs that control inflammation. Applying a corticosteroid cream to affected skin might return color.
Leucoderma could be caused by Congenital abnormalities including Tuberous sclerosis, partial albinism, Waardenburg syndrome, and Piebaldism. The issue could also be the result of some immunological condition like Vitiligo, Halo mole, Melanoma-associated leukoderma or vitiligo.
Occupation: Staying in a job that demands continuous exposure to some chemicals, or sun causing sunburns, also causes Leucoderma. Neurogenic factors – a condition where substances toxic to the melanocytes are released from the nerve ending on the skin, can cause vitiligo.
The biggest sign that someone may have vitiligo is the appearance of light or "depigmented" spots on the skin, says Suzanne Friedler, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York City. The pale patches are areas with little or no melanin, the skin's natural pigment.
Dermatologists use different tests to determine if you have vitiligo. Some of these tests include blood tests and a skin biopsy. Susan Bard, MD, is a board-certified general and procedural dermatologist with the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery.
Light therapy exposes your skin to a type of ultraviolet (UV) light that can restore your natural skin color. If a large area of your body needs treatment, your dermatologist may prescribe a type of light therapy called phototherapy. During phototherapy, you expose your skin to UV light for a specific amount of time.
Vitiligo treatment is usually lengthy and challenging. Clinical markers, such as trichrome sign, confetti-like depigmentation, and Koebner phenomenon, may be more convenient and noninvasive than serum biomarkers for assessing the prognosis of vitiligo.
Skin, which develops milky-white patches, often on the hands, feet, arms, and face. However, the patches can appear anywhere. Hair, which can turn white in areas where the skin is losing pigment. This can happen on the scalp, eyebrow, eyelash, beard, and body hair.
Your risk increases if: Blood relatives have vitiligo. Blood relatives have certain other autoimmune diseases (develops when your immune system attacks part of your own body), especially one that affects the thyroid (gland in your throat) or alopecia areata (type of hair loss).
If vitiligo is not treated, it may spread extensively to involve various skin areas. Rarely, some patches may go away or decrease in size. Although vitiligo is neither dangerous nor causes symptoms, such as pain or itch, the sufferers may be upset and stressed because of the way their skin appears.
Areas of your skin that lose their pigment are called macules if they're less than 1 centimeter wide, or patches if they're larger than 1 centimeter. If you have vitiligo on a part of your body that has hair, your hair may turn white or silver. The condition occurs when your body's immune system destroys melanocytes.
Vitiligo can cause minor changes or extensive changes in the skin. In some people, it may be hardly noticeable, while in others it is obvious.
Certain components of hair dye, bleaching agents, and skin-care products can set off a vitiligo flare. Marmon advises choosing products labeled hypoallergenic that are free of harsh chemicals, fragrances, and irritants.
About 15 to 25 percent of people with vitiligo are also affected by at least one other autoimmune disorder, particularly autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis , pernicious anemia, Addison disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis ...
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way.
You'll usually spot signs of vitiligo on the face, hands, elbows and knees. It's unusual to see tinea versicolor on the hands or legs. TV is most common on the chest or back. And the discoloration isn't the same for both conditions.